


Stars Ignited

by ladytenten



Series: Stars Ignited [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Drama, F/M, Gai-han | team guy (naruto) - Freeform, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Romance, Star Wars References, Team Gai - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:08:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24219421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladytenten/pseuds/ladytenten
Summary: When Mandalorian bounty hunter Tenten is commissioned to kidnap King Neji, will she have the heart to go through with it when the two start to get to know each other?
Relationships: Hyuuga Neji/Tenten
Series: Stars Ignited [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1800994
Comments: 24
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

It was late and the room was quiet save for the faint humming of the holograms and an occasional deep breath. Neji Hyuga sat on the couch in his room, lilac eyes fixed on the glowing blue hologram displayed before him with other disabled hologram discs scattered around the table in front of him. He studied the display with unwavering intensity until his eyes began to sting. His concentration only broke at the sound of someone at his door. He sat up instantly, his attention snapping to the door before he stood up, taking a second to stretch before walking to the door, allowing it to slide to the side and reveal his sister waiting for him there. 

“Lady Hinata,” Neji greeted, a small concerned, frown spreading across his face. “Are you alright? It’s rather late. Why aren’t you asleep?” he inquired, stepping aside to allow her in.

“I could ask you the same question. You look exhausted,” Hinata responded, her own concern matching his. She stepped into his room, allowing the door to close behind her as the blue light from the hologram caught her eye. She walked over to the couch, sitting down on one side and making sure to leave room for Neji to sit beside her. “You still haven’t finished looking the negotiations over?” Neji sighed and moved to sit beside her.

“I have, but I want to make sure I’m not missing anything. I’ve also found some information about the systems we’re making negotiations with and how their politics are set up. I figured that kind of information might be useful to have, just in case things don’t go as smoothly as we hope.” Neji gave another sigh and sat back against the couch as his gaze idly moved back to the hologram. He had been made king of their system only a few days prior when their previous king, Hiashi Hyuga, had died under mysterious circumstances. His first order of business was to carry out negotiations with three separate systems, a task the prior king was supposed to do before it was so unceremoniously dropped in Neji’s lap. Much rode on these negotiations, what with how poorly Hiashi had run their system before his untimely passing. The people were depending on Neji now, and he needed to make a good impression as king, though he wasn't sure how good of a job he could do.

Hinata watched him out of the corner of her eye silently. Normally, Neji was good at concealing his emotions, what with his stoic nature. But she could see that this was all taking a toll on him. The exhaustion in his eyes wasn’t just from the lack of sleep he’d had for the past few days. She scooted closer to him. 

“Hey,” she spoke softly, a gentle hand placed on his shoulder and her head tilted to try and get his attention. “You’ll do well. If anyone can do it, it’s you, big brother.”

Feeling her hand on his shoulder, Neji glanced over at Hinata, his gaze finding hers. It was hard, but Hinata was one of the only people who knew how to calm Neji’s nerves. He wasn’t completely convinced yet that it would go all that smoothly, but there was something about the tone of her voice that was so soothing. A small smile grew on his lips for a quick moment before disappearing. 

“You should go to sleep. I’ll want you and Hanabi to be there when I leave in the morning.”

A soft smile spread on Hinata’s face before she stood up and walked to the door. Neji followed suit, following her there and stopping before it as it slid open. Hinata leaned forward to wrap her arms around Neji’s middle in a hug. 

“Good night, big brother. I will try to see you off in the morning but if I’m not there, good luck. I know you will make our whole system proud.”

Neji hesitated for a moment, looking down at her before a hand went to loosely, briefly wrap around her. Physical affection was never something he was good at. 

“Good night, Lady Hinata. Sleep well.” She separated from him and gave him one last smile before exiting his room, going off to her own room to sleep. Too tired to continue studying the holograms, Neji decided to turn the lights off in his room and go to bed himself. He would have all the time he would need the next day, while being piloted to the systems in question, to review what he needed to. 

  
  


_ Elsewhere, a few days prior... _

  
  


The night was quiet out in one of the civilian districts, the sound of the occasional speeder whirring in the distance or the even quieter pitter-patter of rodents and their predators scampering between the buildings being the only thing to break the silence. A figure clad in Mandalorian armor could be seen soaring through the sky, the flame at the end of her jetpack slowly dying out as she landed in the middle of a dark alleyway. She arrived with not a minute to spare as a man walked out of the shadows to meet her. 

“Let’s cut right to the chase,” the man greeted coldly as he faced the bounty hunter, pausing a moment to see if he could make out any of her facial features through the window of her helmet. No such luck. He reached out behind him and pulled out a pouch, jingling it in front of her. “I’ve got the credits you want right here.” 

The mandalorian wordlessly reached out to grab it before the man pulled it back, holding up his other finger to wag at her. 

“Ah ah ah, not yet. You’ll need to carry out your end of the bargain first.” He reached back again and produced a disk containing all the information she would need for the task he needed her to do. She hesitated, gaze focused on his face at first then looking down at his hand before accepting the disk. She had been about to wordlessly take off again before the man commissioning her spoke once again. 

“Just one more thing. I want you to know that you weren’t our first choice for a bounty hunter. Frankly, not even our tenth. Fortunately for you, you’re the best one we could have gotten with the amount of credits we have. You should know we don’t expect you to do that good of a job so here’s a little more...aha...motivation for you,” he paused, looking her up and down to try and gauge her response based on body language. His gaze moved back up to her face before he continued. “Bring him back to us alive or we turn you over to the jedi.” He allowed silence to hang in the air, head tilted slightly as he further observed the bounty hunter. He wished she would take that damn helmet off. 

“I’ve got some friends in high places, some who have connections to the jedi council. It would be a shame if they were to catch wind of your activity. I hear you’ve done some truly awful things, definitely worthy of being locked away. You do your job, and we’ll pretend those things never happened,” he finished, bringing his arms up to cross over his chest, allowing the pouch of credits to dangle and giving it another quiet jingle. 

The bounty hunter briefly looked down at the pouch before looking back up to the commissioner's face. “Got it.” She finally spoke, the sound of her voice somewhat distorted behind her helmet. She pocketed the disk before activating her jetpack and taking off, the commissioner going off to his speeder and going the other direction. 

On the outskirts of the district, she landed in front of her landed ship. It wasn’t much, somewhat old and beat up, but it was a ship she was proud of, having pooled enough money with her partner after doing various missions and odd jobs to buy it. They made the best of it though. It was big enough that they could both be in it comfortably, store their weapons, and both sleep in their own rooms. It was better than any home on any system they could ever live in. 

As she entered the ship, she reached up to pull her helmet off, taking a breath before walking into the sitting area. Amber eyes immediately fell upon her partner, who sat at the table while cleaning his weapons. Seeing someone out of the corner of his eye, he looked up, laying his weapon on the table. 

“Tenten, you have returned,” he greeted with a small cheerful smile. “Did you get the mission?”

“Hey, Lee,” she greeted back, mirroring his smile as she moved her helmet to rest between her arm and hip. She reached for the disk before approaching him, setting it down in front of him and moving to stand behind him. She watched over his shoulder as a blue light came to life from the disk, all the information they would need for their mission displayed on the hologram before him. “See for yourself.”

Lee leaned forward to read, eyebrows knit somewhat before his eyes widened. “No way…” Lee breathed incredulously before turning back to look at his partner. “...our mission...is to kidnap the king…?”


	2. Chapter 2

Lee and Tenten had gotten up early the morning of the king’s trip to make sure they had as much time as they would need to prepare. For this mission, Lee and Tenten would be posing as the king’s pilot and jedi bodyguard respectively. Lee had wanted to play the role of the Jedi himself however Tenten decided against letting him. Who knew what sort of accidents he would cause handling a real lightsaber? The role of the pilot suited him better anyway. 

While Tenten was taking this mission seriously, a part of her liked the idea of getting to play the part of the jedi. Weapons of all kinds fascinated her, and that was especially true with something as elegant as a lightsaber. A while back on another system the pair had been in the area after a fight had broken out. A jedi had been killed and the two were lucky enough to find their lightsaber before anyone else did. Naturally, Tenten kept it stored with the rest of her weaponry, occasionally igniting it while alone in her room to admire its fluorescent green glow. All she needed now was a robe to complete the jedi look.

Lee flew them to the king’s palace, having contacted the guards ahead of time to let them know they were arriving. He was thankful that there was someone working among the guards who was aware of their mission and on their side. He had no idea how this would work if there wasn’t someone on the inside pulling strings. As they neared the palace, Lee could feel the already formed knot in his stomach grow tighter. This mission was incredibly risky. Was the reward worth the risk though? Lee never really enjoyed the life of a bounty hunter, though he wasn’t sure how willing he was to admit that. To hurt and kill for the sake of money...it was just not something he would ever grow a thick enough skin for. He wasn’t sure what choice he had now though. Even if they had all the money they needed, it was all he knew. At least they would not be directly killing anyone on this mission. The commissioner wanted the king alive and to successfully carry out the negotiations. From Lee’s understanding, the leadership in the resistance were going to take credit for the negotiations themselves once the king was handed over to them. That was, assuming the negotiations went as planned. 

He broke the silence with a quiet sigh. “...are we sure we want to do this…? There is still time to back out, you know...” he glanced to the side at Tenten before refocusing on flying. “Tenten...if we get caught…” Tenten turned to look at Lee, biting the inside of her bottom lip anxiously as she remembered the threat the commissioner had given her. 

“Look...I know this is scary. But this is the biggest mission we’ve ever had. Think about it. We do this one well, imagine all the bounties we could get in the future. We could afford all the weapons we need. We never have to go hungry again. Just play your part well and I’ll play mine well and in the end we’ll be flying off this system with our pockets filled.” Lee was already worried as it was, Tenten thought. She didn’t need to worry him with the threats their commissioner gave. Not now at least. She stood up from her seat to prepare for the part, slipping her arms through the jedi robe she found and clipping the lightsaber to her belt. She made sure the robe covered the blaster she had strapped to her thigh before going to sit back down. “Remember, for this mission we’re going by fake names. You’re going to be Sion Eren and you’re a pilot working for the Galactic Republic. According to the mission’s background information, there was a jedi padawan or something named Scora Daruss who was supposed to be there for him on this trip. I’m going to pretend to be her.” Lee gave a silent nod as they continued to fly, soon approaching the landing pad outside the palace. 

Tenten instructed Lee to stay in the ship and then exited before going to greet the guards. She did her best to act natural as she spoke to the guards, introducing herself with her new fake name and instructing them on where to put the king’s luggage when loading it into the ship. It was hard to ignore the feeling of her heart racing, however, feeling like any second they would get caught and arrested. She stood quietly in front of the ship while she waited for the king to come out, internally going over what she would say to sound natural.

Neji stood at one of the palace balconies overlooking the garden, arms resting on the marble railing as he allowed the gentle cool breeze to wash over him. The garden was always one of Neji’s favorite spots in the palace. He had fond memories of spending time with his father here before he passed, and to this day Neji would often look out over it or go sit in it to feel closer to him. It relaxed him and if there was ever a time Neji needed to be relaxed, it was now. A cold feeling grew in his stomach as he saw a ship flying toward the palace in the distance, no doubt the ship that would be transporting him where he needed to go. He didn’t move though, he wanted to wait for someone to come get him. It would allow him to stay here looking out over the garden for as long as absolutely possible before he had to leave. 

“Big brother?” Neji turned around at the sound of the familiar voice, his gaze falling on Hanabi after having called out to him with Hinata standing behind her. Hanabi smiled and approached him, then wrapped her arms around him in an eager hug. “I thought you’d left before I got to say goodbye.” Neji smiled down at her, then wrapped an arm loosely around her shoulders. 

“I don’t think I could have left without saying goodbye to you first, Lady Hanabi,” he gently reassured her. Unlike Hinata, who was only a year younger than him, Hanabi was five years younger than him, and still somewhat a child. He found it much easier to be a doting older brother to her. Though really, the two of them meant the world to him. He already doubted his abilities as king, but he had no idea where he would be without having either of them. 

“The ship is here. You should probably go down there. The guards are already loading your bags on board,” Hinata informed calmly. Neji’s gaze moved to Hinata’s face and it took him a moment to realize she was misty-eyed. Hinata had always been sensitive, though Neji was only now realizing how hard this must be for her, to watch him leave only days after her father passed. A sense of guilt grew inside him for needing to leave, but he quickly reminded himself that this was his duty. For her, and for the rest of the system, he needed to succeed. 

“You’re right.” Neji glanced down at Hanabi for a brief moment before removing his arm from her. He took a step back before turning. “Come along,” he stopped to call back, looking back at them before walking off. Hinata and Hanabi only hesitated for a moment before following after him. 

Tenten stood idly in front of the ship, lost in thought as she waited. She was brought back into reality as she noticed guards scrambling to line up on either side of the pathway leading from the palace to the landing dock. Four figures walked out of the palace, one of the palace aides followed by three figures that were too far away for her to make out. One of them had to be the king though, of that she was sure. She had to fight off the urge to roll her eyes at the realization that she and Lee would be stuck babysitting a cranky old fart for who knows how long before they could finally get rid of him and get their money. 

“Presenting his royal highness, King Neji Hyuga of Naboo,” the aide announced as he led Neji down the bridge. Tenten had to refrain from allowing her eyebrows to knit in confusion. That was not the name the mission details had given them. The aide then stepped aside to reveal the king and two women standing behind him. Tenten didn’t realize her eyes had widened as the king came into view. Her gaze fixed on him for a moment, eyes slowly scanning him up and down. She took in his neatly pressed pale purple robes, her interest then shifting to his long dark hair adorned with gold. She finally settled on his face, taking in his striking lilac eyes and defined facial features. He was...

...way too young to be the man they were supposed to kidnap. This was not the same man as the one they saw the images of in the holograms.

Neji stepped forward, stopping a respectful distance from the robed woman. Neji had never seen a jedi up close before, though he had always heard stories about them from either his late uncle or other politicians who would come to Naboo. Despite having his reservations about going on this trip, he was at least intrigued by the idea of getting to spend time around a jedi himself. The palace aide stepped forward to stand beside Neji.

“Your majesty, this is Jedi Padawan Scora Darrus. She will be accompanying you on your trip.”

“Master Jedi,” Neji greeted first with a slight nod of his head. “On behalf of Naboo, thank you very much for accompanying me on this trip. Your service is greatly appreciated.” 

Hearing him finally speak, Tenten stood stunned for another moment. “Uh-...” She needed to snap out of it. Another moment of hesitation before Tenten bowed. “Your highness,” she responded finally before standing up straight again. “It’s my pleasure. I look forward to working with you.” Tenten tilted her head slightly, gesturing toward the ship. “If you’re ready, we should get going. My pilot and I will be waiting for you inside.” She gave another small bow of her head before walking into the ship, then taking a silent deep breath once she was turned away from him. She would need to fill Lee in on this mix up as quickly as she could so he wouldn’t be surprised when Neji entered the ship.

Neji still wasn’t entirely used to the formality that came with being king. He had to remind himself he wasn’t supposed to bow first. She seemed nervous though. Perhaps this was her first assignment without the oversight of a senior jedi around her? Neji had heard that younger, more inexperienced jedi were paired with older, wiser jedi to teach them. The one assigned to him was likely more inexperienced. He would have to keep that in mind during this trip. He wanted this to go smoothly both for himself and for the jedi’s sake. 

After saying his last goodbyes, Neji followed Scora into the ship. His pace as he walked through the ship was slow as he took it all in. It was a little more worn down that he had expected it to be. He wouldn’t comment on that fact though. As long as it could get him where he needed to go in one piece, that was all he needed. Finally, Neji made it to the cockpit of the ship and took a moment to acknowledge Scora standing next to the seated pilot before looking around. It more or less matched the rest of the ship and from what Neji could tell it wasn’t very much to look at. His eyes fell on the empty sitting area and table behind the two pilot seats. 

“Your highness,” Scora called, his attention then moving over to her as she gestured to the man sitting in the chair next to her. “This is Sion Eren. He will be our pilot on this trip. I can assure you you will be in good hands.” Neji nodded his head in greeting. 

“A pleasure to meet you, Sion. Thank you for your help on this trip.” Neji moved to sit at the table, setting down a few disks he had brought along with him to review for the upcoming negotiations. “I hope you don’t mind me being a little quiet on this trip, Master Jedi. I’ve still got a few things to go over before we reach the first system,” Neji explained as he turned on the first hologram. 

Tenten opened her mouth to respond but was immediately cut off by her partner. 

“Well actually, she is not a master yet. She is still only a padawan,” Lee immediately interjected, thinking that he was being helpful with the correction. Tenten shot him an annoyed look and elbowed him in the shoulder, earning her a small _‘ow’_ and a brief glare from Lee. She looked back up at Neji and put on a smile, waving a hand dismissively.

“Don’t worry about it. Whatever makes you comfortable.” Well, at least she wouldn’t have to go through awkward small talk and risk saying something to give her true identity away. Still though, something was on her mind that she wanted answers to. After hesitating for a moment, she moved to sit beside Neji at the table. She leaned forward and tilted her head to get a good look at him for another moment before gently clearing her throat to speak. 

“I...have a question though, if you don’t mind me asking. So...when I got this assignment from, uhm...the Jedi Council a few days ago, why was I told I would be traveling with King Hiashi Hyuga instead of you...?” Tenten inquired curiously, gaze still trained on the king’s face. 

Neji sat quietly for a moment, the question causing his heart to pound in his chest. It was a heavy topic for him, one he hadn’t necessarily given himself time to contemplate deeply. Everything had moved so fast but Neji couldn’t afford to not keep up. He took a deep breath before looking over at her, doing his best to conceal his sorrow behind stoic lilac eyes. 

“...that’s because a few days ago, he was the king.” He was surprised that the Jedi weren’t aware of his passing fast enough to update Scora on the situation. Though far be it from him to criticize the Jedi Council. He had other things to worry about and the trip had only begun. He couldn’t risk making things awkward now. He refocused his gaze idly on the hologram before continuing. “Well actually, it would be more accurate to say a few days ago marked the end of his rule. He…” Neji trailed off, closing his eyes for a moment to take another deep breath, then opening them again. “He was found dead in his room. Since then, I’ve been made the new king.”

Tenten continued to watch him as he explained, eyebrows raised somewhat at the reveal. A small feeling of grief filled her chest, followed by a small feeling of guilt. Tenten and Lee had more or less no remorse for taking an old king like Hiashi out of power. Although neither of them were citizens of Naboo, they’ve heard enough about what the man was like as a ruler and how some citizens suffered for it. They were getting paid either way but Tenten at least took solace in the idea of ending the reign of a man who was generally disliked. But now here was someone younger, who was new to the throne. A part of her felt like it was a shame, knowing what kind of fate he would meet. But...money was money. 

“Oh...I see…I’m so sorry to hear that...” Tenten finally responded, her gaze moving down to stare at the table for a minute before she resumed looking at him, this time out of the corner of her eye. “Can I...ask what happened to him, exactly...?”

His death had been a mystery for the past few days however just this morning the investigative team had uncovered the most probable reason for his death. It angered Neji to think about, but the facts are the facts. His gaze stayed fixed on the hologram this time when he spoke. 

“Suicide...something you should understand about my uncle was that he was a very paranoid man. Things angered and upset him very easily.” Neji reached out for the hologram disk to turn it off. He couldn’t focus while talking like this. He then turned his body to face Scora before speaking again. “For a while now he’s been struggling with a resistance group who have been causing problems all over the system. Rumors have been spreading about them being tied to the separatists and about a plot to kidnap him and turn him over to the separatists alive. And so, being the paranoid man he is, he decided the best way to avoid that happening to him was to take his own life,” Neji explained simply, as though it was even a simple thing to explain. 

Tenten stared up at Neji for a moment as she felt her heart beginning to sink. Were these the same people that commissioned her and Lee to take on this mission? Did this really go all the way back up to the separatists? For a moment, Tenten felt choked. She couldn’t speak. It felt like his eyes were piercing into her soul and reading the contents of her mind. A small part of her almost braced for him to say something to expose her. But no. She had to remember he didn’t know anything yet. As far as he knew, she was just an uninvolved jedi padawan helping him with his negotiation trip, nothing more nothing less. 

“I see…” Her gaze cast down and she fell silent again, mind racing as she thought of what she could say that wouldn’t leave them both on such a somber note. “You have nothing to worry about, your highness,” she finally spoke, looking up at him again. “No harm will come to you from anyone, seperatist or otherwise, while I’m here to protect you.” 

“We are making the jump to hyperspace,” Lee announced as his hand moved to pull back a lever. And within a second, they were out of Naboo’s atmosphere.


	3. Chapter 3

A day had passed between when they left Naboo and when they landed and Tenten and Neji were immediately escorted to meet the king of this new system. It didn’t take long at all for the negotiations to start though how long it was that Tenten had to sit on the sideline while the negotiation took place, she wasn’t sure. She did have to fight off the urge to fall asleep where she sat though. Admittedly she had a hard time falling asleep the night before, after learning all that she had about the king. He was more or less just as quiet as he promised he would be after their conversation but he left her with much to think about. On one hand, she and Lee needed the money and they were already locked into this mission. The commissioner who threatened them made sure of that. But on the other, her conscience was beginning to eat away at her. Could she really allow herself to be the reason this man died? Or worse? The remainder of the trip was spent with her sitting up at the controls with Lee, with her gaze occasionally drifting over to him idly as she became lost in thought. 

It didn’t help that the negotiations were also incredibly boring to listen to. Tenten hated listening to politics. No matter what system she was on, politicians all made her sick. However, of what she did care to listen to, there was something different about Neji’s style of running things. He seemed to genuinely care about the people of his system. It was easy to tell with his tone and how stubborn he could be on some points that what he did was genuinely for the benefit of his system and its citizens. Admittedly, she didn’t know the first thing about what it took to run a system but she still found herself somewhat impressed by how Neji was handling it so far. Naboo would be losing a really good leader.

Tenten sat up when she noticed the meeting had concluded, her hands moving to her lap as she watched the leaders bow to each other. Her eyes fell on Neji, watching him bid the other system’s leader goodbye after a long session of negotiations. To her, he seemed so in his element, as though he had been doing this his whole life. Her attention moved to his face, his expression was polite yet for the most part unreadable. Tenten felt a knot form in her stomach as she kept her focus on him. He was so unassuming, carrying himself like he wasn’t going to meet certain doom in a matter of time. She stood up as Neji approached her, attention focused up at him as he stopped before her. 

“We’ve finished negotiations for the day. Let’s head out now.” Tenten didn’t object and immediately moved to stand by Neji’s side as they left the room. A content breath escaped her as she was relieved to be out of that room and was now able to stretch her legs. “I apologize for the meeting taking as long as it did. Thank you for waiting for me.”

“Hm?” Tenten looked up at Neji as they walked briefly before refocusing on their path and giving a small shrug of her shoulders. “Oh, don’t worry about it,” she responded nonchalantly, then falling silent again. She looked back up at Neji out of the corner of her eye briefly, then looking back forward. He looked better now, more relaxed. Tenten could only surmise that his calmer demeanor now was the result of being less stressed. The meeting, from the small amount she paid attention, seemed to have gone well. If he was as new to being a king as he said he was, she could only imagine how stressed out he was before the meeting.

“We’ll be staying here for the night. The king already has rooms for all three of us to stay in. And he wants us to come to dinner tonight as his guests,” Neji informed lightheartedly. He felt a small sense of pride build up in his chest after that long meeting. He was thankful that the king he had negotiated with was so agreeable. He could only hope that the next two negotiations would go as smoothly. The idea of getting to stay on this system as guests was also appealing to Neji. He had only shared a room with Sion for one night and he was already tired of it. He snores too much and mumbles incoherently in his sleep. 

“Really?” Scora looked back over at him with her eyebrows slightly raised, clearly intrigued by the invitation. “That sounds nice. I take it that means everything went smoothly?” 

“It did,” Neji looked down at her and nodded. “Naboo gained a strong ally today. I’m hoping this means something good for the remaining two negotiations as well.”

“I’m sure it does,” Tenten responded kindly. At least everything was going according to plan so far. 

The rest of the day had come and gone. Anything the three of them would need while spending the night had been loaded into their respective rooms and they were allowed some free time until dinner. Neji had changed clothes, exchanging his heavy robes for something more simple and suited to the occasion. Dinner had been nice. Neji observed that there weren’t too many people at the table, just the three of them and the king of this system and his spouse along with a senator and a few ambassadors. Thankfully it was easy to keep the conversation going with the various contributing voices. Neji didn’t think it would go as well if it was just the king and him. Conversation was never his strong suit. However he did notice that Scora and Sion were speaking even less than he was. They seemed to only speak when spoken to and even then, they would speak as little as possible. Their posture also seemed stiff and tense, though why they both seemed so unrelaxed was a mystery to him. He wouldn’t comment on it now though, and risk making them even more uncomfortable. 

After dinner, Neji decided to check on his companions. Sion had somehow already managed to fall asleep by the time Neji got to his chamber. That was alright, he would just check on him in the morning. He then made his way over to Scora’s chamber, allowing his presence to be known and patiently waiting for her to allow him in. 

Dinner had felt uncomfortable for Tenten to say the least. She and Lee had been surrounded by high ranking public officials, not to mention security. There was a fear that they might say the wrong thing, or say something that would get them caught. She had instructed Lee to speak only when spoken to, and to say as little as possible to lower the chance of that happening. That aside though, Tenten found herself enjoying the lavish dinner. She could get used to eating like this. Getting to go to her chamber though was the nicest part of the night. She spent some time exploring the room when she first arrived. It was a big room, with a big bed neatly done with silk sheets and an expensive looking blanket. Close to it was a desk with elaborate patterns carved into the wood and a chair to go with it. There was a couch and a small table on the other end, and scattered throughout the room were various small plants and ornaments. She wasn’t sure what they were made of but they did look expensive. Tenten made a mental note to pocket a few of them. They could be worth something if she sold them. The part that intrigued her the most about the room though was the balcony. She stepped out onto it, resting her arms on the rail to look out over the rest of the district. She took in the sight of the unusual nature of the planet, noting the various shapes and colors the plants came in here. Some of them even glowed. Tenten had been to many different planets in search of work but she seldom ever got to slow down to take in the systems she was visiting. Getting to do that now it felt...nice.

Her attention quickly shifted to the door, hearing that someone was there. She quickly moved to the door to open it and her eyebrows raised slightly seeing who it was waiting for her on the other end. 

“Your highness,” she looked up to him with confusion, her gaze then shifting out into the hall behind him and then back up to him. “Is something wrong?” Tenten shifted aside to allow him in. 

“Master Jedi. I just came to thank you for your service today,” Neji responded simply before walking in.

“Oh. Uh...no problem. I didn’t really do anything but I’m glad I could be of service.” Tenten smiled. That couldn’t be it though, there had to be something else he wanted. Why else would he come inside her room? “By the way… you don’t have to call me that.” The fun that came with pretending to be a jedi had quickly worn off. She couldn’t pinpoint why, but being addressed that way was beginning to make her uncomfortable. At least she was used to the idea of using fake names. “Just...Scora is fine.” 

“Alright. Scora it is.” Neji gave a short nod and the corners of his lips pulled up in a small smile. She seemed very different now, with her hair braided over her shoulder as opposed to being pulled up in twin buns, and having exchanged her jedi attire for something more comfortable. She seemed more relaxed now as opposed to dinner. It was a relief. “I also came to ask, if you don’t mind me doing so, were you alright at dinner? You and Sion were very quiet.” 

Tenten blinked at the question and hesitated. He was more observant than she thought. 

“Oh yeah, don’t worry about it,” she quickly dismissed with a wave of her hand. “It’s a...jedi thing. We’re taught that it’s better to sometimes just sit and listen.” Was that true? Tenten wasn’t sure. She could only hope it sounded preachy and obnoxious enough to pass as something a jedi would say. It seemed to be good enough for the king though, as he didn’t press on any further. 

“I see. Well then I’m relieved it’s nothing. I feared that something had upset you or made you uncomfortable.” Tenten was somewhat taken aback hearing him say that. It wasn’t often people outside of just Lee expressed worry for her. Even if it was something this small. She wasn’t sure what to make of the feeling. It was strange, though not necessarily bad. Her shoulders relaxed. She hadn’t even realized she was tensing them to begin with upon Neji arriving in her room. 

“Thanks for the concern. I’m fine though, really.” Tenten smiled up at him gently before looking around the room. “It’s kind of hard to be uncomfortable when you’re staying in a palace as beautiful as this one. I’ll bet you’re used to staying in palaces like this one though.” As she spoke she walked back over to the balcony, then looking back to Neji to make sure he followed after her. She rested her elbows on the railing once more and looked out over the land, enjoying the fresh air that came with the light breeze flowing around her. Neji soon joined her. He stood up straight beside her and moved his arms to lightly cross over his chest as he took a moment to take in the view. 

“Actually, no. This is my first time in another king’s palace. Well really, my first time leaving Naboo all together,” he admitted. “I agree with you though, this palace is very nice. Along with the rest of the system.” Neji moved forward, moving to rest his arms on the balcony railing and looking out into the distance. Tenten looked over at him with somewhat raised eyebrows, intrigued.

“Really?” She held a tone of disbelief as she spoke and she brought a hand up for her to rest her chin on as she watched him for another moment, then looking back out over the balcony. “I can’t imagine what it would be like to just be stuck on one planet all the time.”

“I’ve never really thought about it before. Even back as a prince, I had plenty to keep me busy growing up between my royal duty and looking after my sisters.” Neji shifted, turning around and leaning back against the railing. “I’m certainly enjoying this experience more than I thought I would though, all things considered.”

“Your sisters, huh? Is that who those two girls standing behind you were back on Naboo?” Neji seemed much more family oriented than she thought he would be. Tenten had always assumed the worst about royalty, that they only cared about themselves and the power they had over others. Neji seemed different though. Unlike any other politician Tenten had encountered, either for a bounty or otherwise, she realized that Neji seemed to actually have a heart. 

“Yes, that’s them. Well, technically, they’re my cousins. They’re both the daughters of the previous king. But we were all raised together so really I can’t help but think of them as my sisters,” Neji explained, his arms then moving to loosely cross over his chest. His gaze wandered up briefly to look at the stars before his gaze traveled down to her, lingering on her face and taking note of the way the stars and the various glowing plants down below reflected off her face and eyes. He found himself liking the tone of this conversation better than their first one on the ship. When the topic wasn’t heavy, and he himself was relaxed, he found her to be an easy person to talk to. “Their father had always been a busy man and so growing up I took it upon myself to look after them both. I don’t know where I would be now without them.”

“Mhm...well if you’re as good of a brother as you are a negotiator, I’ll bet they feel lucky to have you,” Tenten responded honestly, her gaze then shifting back up to his face and a small smile momentarily pulling at her lips. She was quickly starting to find the dynamic of Neji’s family quite intriguing. Maybe it was just the fact that she never really had a family of her own before that made her so interested in listening to the small things Neji would reveal about his own? Even then though, his family dynamic felt different than the traditional ones. There were pieces missing from the story that Tenten couldn’t fill in on her own. She kept her attention on him and curiously tilted her head. “But...what about your own father? Where’s he?”

Neji felt a sense of coldness grow in his stomach after hearing her question and for a moment he didn’t speak. His lilac eyes stayed trained on her somberly for another moment before they drifted to the ground. After all these years, it was still a sore subject for him.

“He was killed by the resistance group, known on Naboo as Daybreak. I was only four years old at the time.” Neji closed his eyes and let out a quiet breath through his nose. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air as Neji mustered up the ability to tell the painful story. He then opened his eyes and looked back down at Scora briefly before his gaze trained on the ground in front of him. “My uncle was generally disliked by the people of Naboo, and Daybreak had always been a radical group who was very vocal about their hatred of him. They’re the same group that I had mentioned was rumored to be aligned with the Separatists. They’ve been trying for years to overthrow my uncle and multiple assassination attempts have been made on his life and they were almost lucky once. You see, my father and uncle were identical twin brothers. One of their attempts to assassinate my uncle was mistakenly made on my father instead and, unfortunately, they succeeded. Since then I have been raised under my uncle’s care, along with his two daughters.” Neji let out a quiet sigh after concluding his story. Silence hung in the air and he continued to stare at the ground. It had been sixteen years since then and it was still a difficult topic for him to speak about. After another moment, he continued. 

“I don’t agree with the way my uncle ran things as king. He was selfish and only did things for his own benefit, or the benefit of the elites of our system. I can understand why the people of Naboo didn’t like him. That’s why I need these negotiations to work. I need to restore the people of Naboo’s faith in its leadership again and I need to do right by them.” Hearing his story and then hearing his resolve, Tenten was reminded of why she was here in the first place. She felt her heart grow heavy and then felt it begin to sink, realizing that she would be taking it all away from him. 

“Hey,” she called softly, turning around so her back was to the railing. She stepped toward him and tilted her head to try and get his attention. “Listen...I’m no politician or anything but for what it's worth...I thought you did well today. If the way you did things today means anything for how you can run a whole system, I know Naboo is in good hands,” she tried to reassure him against her better judgement. Why it was she was trying to console the subject of her bounty, she had no idea. Perhaps it was the guilt weighing her down, knowing that she would directly be the reason that his vision for his system would never be realized? Or maybe she wanted him to believe everything was going according to his plan for now until she thought of a way to get out of this. Either way, she was prepared for another long, restless night. At least she got to see that her words put the king at ease when she saw his facial expression relax. 

“I appreciate that, Scora. It means a great deal to me, knowing someone thinks that.” He looked back up and gave Tenten a small gentle smile. She looked up at him and their eyes locked for a moment before Tenten’s gaze trailed to the side. 

“It’s...don’t mention it.” She stole one last glance up at his face before her eyes trailed over to the door. “Anyway...it was very sweet of you to come check on me, your highness. Thank you.” Neji’s eyes stayed focused on her face for a moment before he turned to start walking toward the door. 

“You’re welcome. And by the way, it’s Neji.” Tenten’s eyes widened slightly after hearing the correction and she looked back up to him. She quickly moved to follow him to the door. 

“Oh. Well then...good night, Neji,” she responded, taking the opportunity to try out his name. 

“Good night, Scora,” Neji greeted back, taking a second to look back at her with kind eyes before he exited the room. Tenten closed the door behind him and for a moment stood still, her hand gently resting on the door. She sighed deeply and bit her bottom lip as the sense of guilt in her chest grew. This wasn’t right but at the moment she had no idea what to do about it. She was too exhausted to come up with anything but she also knew she would never get to sleep that night. She looked back at her bed before padding over to it. It was a shame how warm and inviting it looked to sleep in when she knew she would be spending the night tossing and turning instead of relaxing in it. Nonetheless, she still climbed under the sheets and closed her eyes while trying to make herself as comfortable as she could. This would be a long night and she had a lot more to think about. 


	4. Chapter 4

The rest of the night was quiet and as Tenten had expected, sleep did not come easy to her. She managed to get a few hours in however the conversation she had with the king earlier kept replaying in her mind. A pit formed in her stomach the more she thought about it and she began to feel increasingly trapped, like walls all around her were slowly boxing her in. While she was still awake enough to think, she racked her brain for ideas on what she could possibly do. She didn’t remember falling asleep however she could tell it hadn’t been that long, judging by how tired she still felt in the morning. Although she was exhausted, she forced herself out of bed. She would just try to sleep in her room on the ship. They had a whole day before they would make it to the next system. She had plenty of time to rest. It was more comfortable there anyway. Or at least that is what she told herself. 

The trip to the next system was for the most part uneventful. Similar to how it was before, Tenten mostly kept to herself and Lee while the two left the king to do as he pleased. And just as he had done before, he spent the majority of the trip reviewing holograms with information on the next system. And just like she had done before, Tenten couldn’t help but sneak a few glances at him in passing. He seemed a lot calmer now, and a lot more relaxed than before. Serenity suited him. 

Just as before, Tenten was to sit in on the sidelines while negotiations were taking place. Tenten quickly found that politics were boring to listen to regardless of the planet they were taking place on. Unlike before however, it was too hard to fight off the urge to doze off. During the few hours it had taken for negotiations to take place and conclude, Tenten found herself falling asleep with her head resting against the wall. It wasn’t until the negotiations had concluded and all the parties involved were shaking hands that Tenten woke up again. Embarrassment settled in as Tenten hadn’t even realized she had fallen asleep. Did anyone else notice her? She could only hope not. A hand reached up to wipe the sleep out of her eyes and she sat up and waited for the king to approach her. 

“All done, your majesty?” Tenten asked as she stood up to meet him. Neji nodded silently before the two left the room together. “How did it go?”

“It went alright. There was one point that we were having an issue coming to an agreement on however, so it looks like there will be another day of negotiation here before we can go to the next system,” Neji explained, a sigh then escaping through his nose before he fell silent. It was an exhaustive process, Neji was quickly learning, but it hadn’t escaped him that Scora had fallen asleep during the last meeting. He wondered how exhausting it was for her? Or if there was something else that was happening? It was plain to see how exhausted she was even the morning before they left. It left Neji somewhat worried about her. Though he wouldn’t comment on it for now. “On the bright side though, the queen invited us to attend the Mon Calamari ballet tomorrow evening as her guests. It should be nice.”

Hearing about the invitation, Tenten looked up at Neji with slightly raised eyebrows as her gaze fell on his face with silent curiosity. She had only ever heard of those ballets in the past, having never been able to attend one herself. The only people able to go to those as far as she knew were rich elites. Tenten had long since convinced herself that it probably wasn’t worth it anyway. But now she would be lying if she said it didn’t pique her interest at least a little. Neji then looked down at her and for a moment, their eyes locked. Tenten noticed concern in his, perhaps from how quiet she was being. 

“Is that...alright…?” Neji asked cautiously.

“Oh! Yeah, that sounds great. Sorry, I’ve just...never been to the ballet before is all.” Tenten quickly put on a smile before looking ahead again. “It does sound nice though.” The concern left Neji’s face as soon as it had appeared and he resumed looking forward again as well. 

“I think you’re in for a nice treat then.” A small smile formed on Neji’s face. “I’ve been to see them a handful of times when they would come to Naboo. I would take my sisters and we would all watch them together. They’re very talented.” 

“Well then in that case,” Tenten looked up at Neji again, a small smile still on her face. “I can’t wait to see them.”

Much like on the last planet they visited, Tenten, Lee, and Neji were all given guest rooms of their own to sleep in during their stay. It was nighttime now, and Tenten had already made herself comfortable in her room. She took advantage of the nice bathroom and tried to relax herself with a nice hot shower. The soaps, shampoos, and conditioners they provided here definitely smelled better than anything she had on the ship. 

Tenten sat on the edge of her bed in her pajamas, with her damp hair braided over her shoulder. She sighed and allowed her shoulders to fall. Her gaze was trained down at the pouch in her hand, filled with the credits the commissioner had given her. It had been less than a week since she received this bounty, but it felt like it was months ago. The feeling of walls closing in around her never left. It now felt like they were even closer, and like she was running out of time before she would be completely boxed in and then crushed by them. It made her wonder if this was all worth it?

Tenten lost her train of thought when she heard someone at the door. Her head snapped to look at it before she quickly tucked the pouch under her blanket and went to answer it. Her eyebrows raised slightly seeing the king standing on the other side of it. 

“Neji.” Tenten stepped to the side to allow him in. “What are you doing here?” Neji stepped into the room before turning to her. 

“I hope I didn’t wake you, Scora. I just came by to check on you.” Tenten felt her heart flutter hearing his explanation. 

“Check on me…?” Tenten echoed. “Why, what for?” Neji’s gaze wandered to the side and he brought a hand up to his neck. 

“Well...I noticed that you seem somewhat tired. Forgive me if I am out of place for asking but...have you been sleeping alright recently?” Tenten could feel her face beginning to heat up in embarrassment after hearing his question. So he had noticed after all. 

“Well I...uh...no...not really…” Tenten answered after a few moments, her voice quiet as her attention shifted to the side. “But it’s okay. I’m sure I’ll be fine in the morning,” she tried to dismiss. Neji lowered his hand to his side and turned to look at Tenten again, and his eyes seemed to be filled with concern. Tenten looked back up at him searchingly, trying to read his face as silence fell between them for a moment. Despite how concerned he looked, his eyes still looked so gentle. Tenten couldn’t tell if she liked the feeling of having someone like him being concerned for her or if she felt uncomfortable, like he could somehow read her mind like a book. If he stared for long enough, would he have her figured out?

“Is something troubling you?” Neji finally spoke again, his voice calm. His gaze strayed to the side once again. “I...I know that we don’t know each other well and that you’re only here to help me but...if you would like to talk about what it is that’s on your mind, I don’t mind listening.” His gaze moved back to her face. Suddenly, Tenten felt choked, like her ability to speak had been taken away from her. There was no way she could tell him the truth but even if she wanted to, she knew no sound would come out if she opened her mouth. All she could do was look up at Neji silently. He was being far kinder to her than she ever deserved. And she couldn’t even bring herself to respond. Maybe she could come up with a lie? Tenten opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out. She closed her mouth and her mouth and her eyes shut before a silent breath escaped her through her nose. Ashamedly, she turned her head down to face the floor. 

“I see,” Neji spoke gently. “I understand. It’s alright, you don’t have to tell me.” Tenten looked back up at him silently, a sad smile then forming on her face. “However, if you would like, I can teach you how to meditate. I find meditation helps me when I have a lot on my mind. Would you be alright with that?” Tenten’s smile brightened up at the offer. 

“Oh yeah, sure. Thank you.” If the situation wasn’t so grim at the moment, Tenten might have found it to be funny that the person helping her with her stress was the person who was stressing her out in the first place. Neji moved to sit on the ground beside Tenten’s bed with his legs folded beneath him. Silently, he motioned for her to sit beside him before his hands moved to rest on his lap. Tenten moved to sit next to him and did her best to mimic his posture before closing her eyes.

“The most important thing to remember when meditating is to breathe. Breathe and allow your troubles to surface in your mind, and confront them. With a calm mind, you may be able to think of solutions for them,” Neji quietly instructed. His eyes were closed for a moment as he began his own meditation process before he looked over at Scora. She seemed tense in her posture, with her shoulders stiff and her hands balled up into fists on her lap. “Your posture is incorrect. Do you mind if I help you fix it?” 

“Oh...sorry…” Tenten said as she opened her eyes to look at him. “Yeah sure, go ahead.” Neji then moved to sit behind her and she closed her eyes again. Two delicate hands moved to her shoulders and guided them into a more relaxed position before they gently pulled her backwards. 

“Your shoulders should be more relaxed like this...and your back should be straighter like this,” Neji explained in a hushed voice and suddenly, Tenten was made aware of butterflies in her stomach. Still though she tried to keep her breathing steady, even as he reached forward for her hands, loosening the fists they made and positioning them on her lap. “Your hands should be more relaxed too, like this.”

The next morning, Tenten found she was much better rested than she was the day before. Her mind wasn’t much clearer from the meditation but at least doing it was boring enough to make her sleepy. Tenten wasn’t expected to be anywhere for a few hours so she took her time getting ready. As she prepared herself, she found herself growing to dislike the jedi uniform. She missed wearing her Mandalorian armor. She never felt safer than when she was wearing it, even when she was in the middle of a fight. How this whole thing would end, Tenten didn’t know, but she still couldn’t wait for it all to be over. 

The last part of the negotiations had come and gone and Tenten had sat through them, same as she did the day before. During the meeting she found herself spaced out. Her thoughts kept going back to the night before. Her stomach was doing flips as she remembered the way he spoke to her, the way he looked at her, and the way he handled her so gently. Aside from Lee, Tenten couldn’t remember the last time someone showed her kindness and care the way he did. And yet it was all a sham. The woman he was being so kind to wasn’t who he thought she was. Tenten felt that she didn’t deserve it, and yet she wanted more. 

Aside from the meeting, the day was rather uneventful. In her free time, Tenten decided to stay close to Lee. They stood in their ship together with Lee walking around, inspecting various parts of it while Tenten followed after him. 

“Will you be coming to the ballet with us, Lee?” Tenten inquired. “The queen here said we could all go as her guests.” 

“I want to go but…” Lee sighed. “There are a few things I need to fix on the ship before we take off again. I apologize.” Tenten waved a hand dismissively.

“It’s okay you’re probably not missing much anyway. More importantly though, what’s wrong with the ship?” Tenten frowned and moved to stand beside her partner. Lee stood up straight and moved his hands to his hips. 

“Well it seems that there are some minor issues with the landing and with the fuel tank. Nothing that should be too hard to fix.” Lee turned to Tenten and smiled before holding out a ‘thumbs up’ in her direction. “Do not worry about a thing, I will have it fixed by the time we leave tomorrow morning. You go enjoy the ballet,” Lee spoke kindly as they approached the closet where the tools were kept. A teasing grin spread on his lips as he sorted through the tools. “You do not want to keep your new boyfriend waiting,” he snickered. Tenten gave a small gasp as she felt her face begin to warm at his teasing and she quickly elbowed his arm. 

“He is not my boyfriend!” Tenten quickly argued back with a frown, only to be met with a chuckle from Lee. The frown on Tenten’s face quickly turned into a pout as her arms were brought up to cross over her chest. “He’s not…” Lee looked back up at Tenten with a smile. 

“You should get going, the ballet will be starting soon. Boyfriend or not, you do not want to be late,” Lee advised, elicited a small huff from Tenten. She’d be sure to bring this back up later. This was not over.

“Fine. Bye.”

Neji waited in the palace patiently for Scora, as he had hoped they would get to go together. With time to spare earlier, Neji had taken his time to exchange his robes he wore during the negotiations for something more comfortable to sit in while watching the ballet. He stood patiently at the end of the hall their bedrooms were in. Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention as Scora finally arrived with not a minute to spare. With a brief greeting shared between them, they then departed for the ballet. Being guests of the queen, naturally they were given the very best seats in the arena, with the perfect view of all the floating water illuminated with various colors of light and of the performers as they maneuvered gracefully around it. Neji kept his attention forward for the most part but found his gaze at times drifting to the side out of the corner of his eye, at Scora sitting beside him. The arena was dim, though the various colors of light still managed to illuminate her face. Her amber eyes seemed to glow with wonder as she watched the display before her in fascination. She was sitting forward with her arms resting on her legs in captivation. The shapes and outlines of her face and hair were the next things Neji noticed. Her features seemed so delicate, like she herself was made from porcelain. And yet she seemed full of life with the way her eyes were lit up in amazement while she watched. It was a nice change, seeing as how she had seemed so tense ever since they met.

Tenten’s gaze left the performers and glanced back at him and her expression was somewhat curious. Had Neji accidentally stared for too long? He just gave her a gentle smile before he himself resumed watching the ballet. He found himself enjoying the evening for reasons he hadn’t anticipated. 

Once the ballet had concluded, Neji presented an invitation to Scora to walk with him through the palace garden when they got back. The queen had given him permission, and had even advised that the garden was nicer at night with some of the various glowing flowers and plants illuminating it, giving it a perspective that wasn’t visible by day. The night was clear and the air was cool. Two moons accompanied the stars shining down on them, and their path was marked and illuminated by various plants and flowers along the trail. It was quite a beautiful view. Neji would have to consider getting some plants like these for his own palace’s garden. 

“How did you like the ballet?” Neji asked as he glanced at Scora. She looked back up at him with a smile. 

“It was...amazing. Did you see the way they were moving through the water?”

“Yes,” Neji gave a small chuckle. “Well they are squids afterall. I don’t think I would expect any less from the Mon Calamari.” Tenten shrugged and looked forward again.

“Yeah, true.”

“I do agree though, their performance was very good.” Neji looked forward again as they walked. He took a deep breath as he felt the cool night breeze gently blow over him. “It’s a shame Sion couldn’t be there with us.” Neji noticed Scora perk up at the mention of their pilot. 

“Oh yeah. He’s busy fixing the ship up.” 

“Is the ship alright?” Neji raised his eyebrows with concern.

“There’s just some small problems with the landing and the fuel I think. He says everything should be fine by the time we need to leave tomorrow,” Scora explained casually.

“I see,” Neji nodded, then looking ahead. “I will be sure to reimburse you for any money spent on repairs when we get back to Naboo.” Scora stopped in her tracks and turned to face Neji.

“No, you really don’t need to do that.” She waved her hands dismissively. Neji stopped and moved back to stand before her, his body turned in her direction.

“I insist. It’s the least I can do for all that you’ve done for me during this trip.” Scora raised an eyebrow and looked up at his face searchingly. She was silent for a moment before shrugging. “Hm...okay then. Thanks.” The two then resumed walking until they found a small open field of grass off the garden’s path. With almost no clouds in the sky and no trees above them, that spot was the perfect place for looking at the stars.

Tenten sat by Neji in the grass, with the two keeping a respectful distance from each other. For a moment her eyes peeled away from watching the sky to look over at Neji curiously. He seemed to be in a good mood. This was the most relaxed she had seen him yet. 

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” Tenten broke the silence as she looked at him more directly. Neji looked over at her in response. 

“Hm?”

“I...haven’t really done anything besides follow you around this whole trip. So I was wondering...what do you mean when you keep saying Sion and I have been doing a lot for you?” Tenten inquired. Neji planted his hands on the ground behind him and leaned back.

“Well...you both have given me companionship on this trip. I consider that to be something,” Neji responded simply, then moved to lay back on the grass. 

“Oh.” Tenten watched as he laid down, her attention staying on him for a moment before looking back up to the stars. 

“It’s nice having people around to talk to. I don’t typically get that back on Naboo.”

“Really?” Tenten looked back, somewhat confused. She shifted back to lay down as well, though her attention was on him still rather than on the stars. “I thought you had your sisters?” Neji gave a small sigh as he continued to watch the stars.

“Well yes but...don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. I enjoy my sisters’ company however...it’s not really the same as having friends around. Growing up in the palace you aren’t really given the opportunity to make friends. This though...it’s a nice change of pace.” Tenten’s eyebrows raised slightly.

“Wait so...you think of us as your friends…?” Tenten looked at him with somewhat widened eyes. The more she thought about it, the more the feeling of happiness grew in her chest. Neji’s attention shifted from the stars back to Tenten. His expression seemed somewhat embarrassed. 

“Is that...strange…? I know you’re only here because it’s your job but-” Neji trailed off when he heard Tenten chuckle. A small frown grew on his face. “...what’s so funny…?” Tenten smiled and shook her head. 

“Nothing! It’s just...nice, you know?” Tenten looked back up at the stars, her expression calm yet light hearted as she spoke. “I didn’t really have many friends growing up either so...I guess you kind of just take what you can get.”

Neji looked over at Scora curiously as he remained silent for a few moments. It was strange to him. Being around her and talking to her, it almost felt like he had known her all his life. And yet he realized now as she spoke that he truly didn’t know very much about her. 

“Well, what about Sion? The two of you seem fairly close,” he pressed on. Neji wanted to see just how much he could get her to tell him. 

“Sion..? Oh yeah,” Scora resumed looking at him. Her body shifted so she was laying on her side, her arm folded under her head. “I’ve known him forever. We found each other back in the lower levels of Coruscant when we were kids and we’ve been friends ever since. He’s more like a brother to me than anything else.” She shrugged. 

Truthfully, Tenten hadn’t been lying about how she and Lee met. Tenten could almost remember the day that the two met. After her parents had been killed and she had been taken away from her homeworld of Mandalore against her will when she was young, she was brought to the system Coruscant. It was there she met a boy who seemed to be about her age who recognized she was in trouble and had helped her to escape. That boy was Lee. The two of them engaged in petty theft afterward to get by, since neither of them had the money to sustain themselves otherwise. As time went on, they turned to a life of bounty hunting, and took small bounty hunting jobs wherever they could to support themselves. It wasn’t a story Tenten liked to tell often, even when she was allowed to. She didn’t even like talking to Lee about it. The memories were too painful. 

“And what’s Coruscant like?” Neji inquired curiously as he turned his head to look at her. 

“Coruscant? It’s like...one giant city. It’s always busy...and loud...and at night there are all these bright lights on the buildings. The Jedi Temple and the Senate are on the upper levels together.” Neji looked back up at the stars. 

“I see. Well then...perhaps we will meet again when this is all over when I start going to the Senate?” Tenten felt a tight knot tie itself in her stomach at the suggestion. There wasn’t supposed to be a next time. She wasn’t a jedi, she wouldn’t get to see him again even if he did get out of this alive _. _ This was all a lie that was getting harder and harder to keep. She could feel herself getting sick, and yet she needed to keep her composure. She forced herself to smile before rolling back onto her back. 

“Mm...yeah. That’d be nice.” Another sleepless night approached, Tenten could already feel it. She decided that she may have to give meditation another try. 


	5. Chapter 5

That night Neji found himself to be in good spirits as he laid in bed. The longer he was on this trip, the less he wanted to go home. He found himself enjoying his time with Scora and Sion. Scora in particular. He wasn’t sure what it was about her that made it feel like time slowed down whenever it was just the two of them. Perhaps it was the fact that she was so good at listening when he spoke. And she seemed so genuine with her responses. It was much different than when he spoke to the noblemen and women his age back on Naboo. Whereas they were all calculated in the way they spoke and failed to show emotion, Scora seemed more genuine, and full of life. She was easy to confide in, and her words of encouragement were comforting to hear. 

Neji found in his time of anxiety toward this trip, he would look back on their moment together on the balcony and her words rang in his ears.  _ ‘I thought you did well today. If the way you did things today means anything for how you can run a whole system, I know Naboo is in good hands.’ _ Part of him felt that it was silly that he would take the words of someone he barely knew so deeply to heart. And yet another part of him didn’t feel like they barely knew each other. There was something so familiar feeling when talking to her, as though he was talking to someone he had known for a long time. It was a comforting feeling. When he closed his eyes to sleep, all he could see was her smile. 

The next morning, Neji, Tenten, and Lee loaded all their things back on the ship and after bidding the queen goodbye, they were off to their third and final system for negotiations. The closer they got to the last system, the tighter the knot in Tenten’s stomach tightened itself. Time was running out. She came up with a solution the previous night while attempting to meditate again though she wasn’t sure how much she liked the idea. But she decided the best thing to do would be to tell the king the truth. What did she have to lose? The best case scenario was that he would be sympathetic and help them come up with a solution out of it. The worst case would be that she and Lee carried out the bounty as originally planned. It was the last thing she wanted but realistically, Tenten decided, it couldn’t get any worse. All she had to do now was figure out how to bring it up so that he would still be cooperative. Tenten sat at the table behind the captain's chair in their ship, her head propped up on her closed fist as she stared ahead idly, her fingers impatiently rapping against the table. She was lost in thought as she contemplated different options for what she could do. Her attention then shifted as she spotted Neji coming out of the room he and Lee were sharing for the time being. She sat up as her gaze followed his movement. He seemed confused and like there was something on his mind he wanted to say. He stood on the opposite side of the table and his attention lowered to her. For a moment he was silent. Tenten watched him with a raised eyebrow, curious what it was he had to say. 

“Scora, I was just speaking to the king of the first system we visited. He mentioned to me that there were some things missing from the room you stayed in that were there before our stay. You...wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you…?” Neji spoke calmly. Tenten felt her heart drop, and her eyes widened. Had she been drinking or eating something at that moment, she might have choked. She stared up at Neji, feeling frozen in place. Where had her voice gone? Lying usually came so easily to her. She was living a lie right now. But now faced with stern lilac eyes, belonging to someone she had come to realize she didn’t want to disappoint, how could she say  _ anything _ ? All she could do was close her eyes and chew on the inside of her lip, and turn her head down to stare at the table in shame. 

“I see…” Neji turned his back and began walking back to Lee’s room.

“Wait, where are you going?” Tenten asked cautiously, after finally finding her voice. Neji stopped and turned back to face her. 

“To tell his majesty that we don’t know what happened to them. You didn’t confess to knowing anything so I can’t accuse you of anything.” And with that he turned around again to walk off. Tenten sat back and her shoulders she didn’t realize she was tensing had relaxed. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. That was a close one. 

Neji wasn’t sure why he let her off like that. Her silence was more than enough to confirm that she in the very least knew what happened to them. And yet turning a blind eye felt most appropriate. She looked at him with such fear in her eyes, he couldn’t bare the thought of what might happen to her if he told the king the truth. He held out the transmission disc and took a deep breath, though before he could send a transmission, Neji felt the floor shift beneath him. The ship was rocking back and forth and he was having a hard time keeping his balance. 

He stumbled out of the room and grabbed onto a wall as his attention directed at the pilot. “What’s happening?!” He demanded.

“The fuel cell just...bursted…!” Sion called back between grunts. His knuckles were white as they gripped the steering and his eyebrows were furrowed as he tried to keep the ship under his control. 

“I thought you fixed that!” Scora called out angrily as she held onto the table. 

“I thought I did too! Now brace yourselves, we need to make an emergency landing and chances are that the landing was not fixed either!” Sion yelled back. And sure enough he was right. The ship came into orbit of the nearest planet to them and Sion did his best to keep control of it as it hurled down to the surface with a crash. Thankfully the trees of the surrounding forest had softened their collision. To the surprise of everyone on board, the ship was still in one piece on the forest floor, surrounded by broken trees. Upon impact, everyone had fallen over and remained laying on the floor of the ship as they tried to collect themselves. With a soft groan, Neji slowly pushed himself up to his knees.

“Is everyone alright…?” he spoke, his gaze shifting between Scora and Sion with concern.

“I...think so,” Lee responded as he pushed himself up. 

“Define ‘alright’,” Scora said less optimistically as she stayed laying on the ground. Neji attempted to stand and after finding his footing, he walked over to help her up. Sion reached up to his chair to pull himself up and sighed. 

“We are going to be stuck here until I fix this ship.” He brought a hand up and held his chin between his index finger and thumb in contemplation. “I will need the two of you to get me supplies from the nearest settlement. If we work fast enough, I should have the ship fixed by the end of the day.” Neji nodded with a serious expression on his face. 

“We will do our best.” Neji spoke before turning toward the door. 

“Wait,” Scora stopped Neji. “We have no idea what’s out there. A king walking around where he’s not supposed to be is just asking for trouble.” She turned to a small closet and pulled out a dark robe with a hood. “Here, wear this. And you should probably change too. You need to blend in.” Neji turned to Scora and accepted the robe. 

“Alright. Give me a few moments and I will be ready.”

With Neji doing his best to blend in, he and Scora had gone to a settlement that was thankfully close by and bought everything Sion needed and brought it back to the ship. With a lot of time to spare, and with Sion not wanting them in his way, they opted instead to spend the rest of their time in the settlement to stock up on supplies for when they leave. According to the golden and pink hues coming from the setting suns, it was evening now. Nightfall would probably be within the next few hours.

Despite their predicament, Neji still had their earlier conversation on his mind, or their lack of conversation to be exact. He needed to know the truth. 

“Scora...there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you…” he started. Scora stopped walking and looked back curiously.

“Hm?”

“You have my word that I will not be reporting you to the king. But between you and me, do you actually know what happened to the things missing from the room you slept in?” Neji asked seriously as he looked her in the eye. Scora blinked and stared up at him with surprise for a moment before that expression melted into a small frown. Her attention left Neji and instead shifted to the side as she remained silent. It was very clear to Neji that she at least knew what happened. Was it possible that she was even involved? Neji didn’t want to believe it but he needed to know. Scora turned around and continued walking and Neji quickly moved to follow after her. “It...wasn’t you...who stole them...was it…?” Neji asked cautiously. Scora remained silent, though it was very clear she was becoming annoyed. The small, brief apologetic look in her eye when she glanced at him though told him all he needed to know. Suddenly it felt like his heart had been replaced by bricks. “But...why…? Aren’t you a jedi? I know you’re-” 

Tenten stopped in her tracks and turned around, her expression now angry as she glared up at Neji after she had cut him off. “ _ What _ do you know about me? What do you know about the way I am and what I do and don’t do?” She stepped toward him and her glare became colder as her eyebrows furrowed. She spoke in a hushed voice but her tone could still cut like a dagger. “You don’t know the _ first _ thing about me.” She felt furious. Was this her boiling point? Was this the part where she went insane from all the pressure this goddamn bounty had put on her? The two of them stood still as Tenten continued to glare up at him while he stared back in confusion, the only thing breaking the silence being Tenten taking an angry deep breath. What Neji did next though left Tenten dumbfounded. 

“You’re right. I don’t,” Neji responded calmly as his expression relaxed. He leaned forward to tenderly take her hand in his. “But I would like to.” Tenten’s once tensed shoulders slowly relaxed and her angry expression melted away. The feeling of her heart pounding like it had when he taught her how to meditate returned but she couldn’t help but feel sad. She almost felt like crying. Without even trying to she just kept digging herself deeper and deeper in this hole. But maybe this was the opportunity she was looking for? Maybe this was the perfect moment to explain the whole truth to him?

“Neji...there’s something I need to tell you…” she spoke again, her voice now much calmer than before. Her attention had shifted to the side in shame. Neither one of them had retracted their hand from the other. 

“What is it?” Neji raised his eyebrows with concern. Tenten could feel her heart beating faster and she wanted nothing more to run away in the other direction. But no, she needed to come forward. She chewed the inside of her bottom lip and took a deep breath, then looking back at Neji.

“Well...I-” Tenten was cut off by the sound of a blaster being shot, the bullet flying right by her and Neji’s face. She gasped and quickly turned around to face the source. A band of thieves had found them. 

“You two don’t look like you’re from around here,” their leader spoke in a haughty tone as she held her blaster over her shoulder. “Everyone who comes to this town has to pay up,” she smiled wickedly. The other members of her band all snickered in agreement. 

“We don’t have any money,” Tenten lied. “We were actually just leaving.” The thieves then fanned out around them. Realizing there was going to be a fight, Tenten unclipped her lightsaber from her belt and ignited it. “Get behind me,” she instructed as she moved in front of Neji, who had taken out a blaster to defend himself with. 

“Oooh, a jedi. We don’t get many of your kind out here. I’ve gotta say though, you don’t really look like you know what you’re doing with that weapon. Why don’t we take it off your hands for you? I promise we’ll take good care of it,” the leader of the thieves taunted. Tenten frowned and a feeling of frustration grew in her. Was it that obvious that she was inexperienced? Tenten inched backwards as she tried to remain as close to Neji as possible. Her attention focused on the leader and she eyed the blaster in her hand as she aimed it. The tension in the air was so thick, a dagger could cut through it. Tenten wondered if they would even get out of this alive. It was only two of them faced with a whole group of people, all armed. Tenten stepped forward and swung her lightsaber in front of her to keep them all at a distance. 

“Get back!” Tenten ordered the thieves. Now more than ever she wished she had her armor and weapons. She could have easily taken all of them if she did. The leader kept her blaster held up and aimed it at Neji before shooting. Tenten’s eyes widened and without hesitation she moved to shield him and took the shot meant for him in her side. She felt a searing pain in her abdomen that expanded outwards. Her lightsaber felt out of her hand and turned off as it impacted the ground and Tenten herself collapsed to her knees. Everything around her was turning fuzzy and before she knew it she lost consciousness. 

“Scora!” Neji called as he quickly kneeled down to catch her and keep her from collapsing on the ground. He held her firmly to his chest in one hand while the other aimed the blaster in his hand as he did his best to defend the two of them. The expression on his face was grim as the distance between the thieves and himself was closing and he quickly realized that this would be the end. 

Or at least it would be. Just as Neji had lost all hope, blasters from above shot down around him and shot the thieves dead. Neji looked up in surprise to see that Sion had fixed the ship and with not a moment to spare. A sense of relief washed over Neji as he realized he was safe, but it didn’t slip his mind that Scora was injured and needed help. Sion quickly landed the ship after having swiftly taken out the thieves and immediately opened the door. He was standing there and waving his arm, motioning for Neji to get in quickly.

“Come on, we need to leave!” Sion called. Neji nodded and then looked back down at Scora. He grabbed the lightsaber she had dropped and then picked her up to carry back to the ship. 

A few hours later Tenten slowly regained consciousness. Her eyes fluttered open and she found herself staring at the ceiling of her room on the ship. She felt groggy and for a few moments she wasn’t even sure how she got to bed or what had happened before she fell asleep. Slowly she became more and more aware of the feeling of metal claws on her stomach and the memories all flooded back, right up until the moment she got shot. How she got out of there alive, she wasn’t sure. One thing was for certain though, getting a medical droid was the smartest money she and Lee ever spent. While she was incapacitated it had stiched her wounds shut and applied a healing ointment and then wrapped her middle in gauze. She would have to remember to take it easy until the wound healed so as not to reopen it or get it infected. 

Tenten got up and left her room. She used the wall as support as she slowly made her way to the main room, where she was sure to find Lee piloting the ship. She was surprised to find he wasn’t in there but an involuntary smile spread on her face when she saw the king sat at the table behind the pilot’s chair.

“You’re okay,” she breathed, then releasing a sigh of relief. Neji looked up from the hologram he was studying and returned the smile. He then stood up to meet her. 

“I’m alright, don’t worry about me. It’s you who had me most worried,” he spoke as he approached her. He looked down at her with gentle yet concerned eyes and for a moment Tenten found herself getting lost in them. “Here, let me help you.” Tenten allowed him to loop an arm around her waist to help her walk over to the table he was sitting at. He gently set her down and then moved to sit beside her. 

“Are you alright? How are you feeling?” he asked her genuinely. There was that feeling again Tenten had felt before, on the night he taught her how to meditate. It was comforting to know he cared so deeply, after barely anyone had for so long. 

“I’ve had worse,” she responded as she tried to brush it off, to which Neji gave a relieved sigh. She then turned to meet Neji’s gaze with a concerned expression of her own. “But what about you? Are you okay?”

“I’m alright.” Neji nodded. His expression then turned serious. “Do you realize how reckless that was? Why would you go so far for me?” He stared down at her intently and all she could do for a moment was return an apologetic look. Hesitantly she shifted closer to him and laid her head against his shoulder. 

“I couldn’t let you die…” she explained quietly. Her gaze stayed focused forward as she rested against him but she could feel his eyes looking down at her. She could feel his posture slowly relaxing and his shoulders slowly lowering. 

“I suppose I should thank you then,” Neji spoke up again, this time his voice much calmer. “I likely wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for your act of bravery. I owe you my life.” Hearing those last words, Tenten could feel a knot form in her stomach.  _ He owed her his life _ . She didn’t deserve hearing him say such kind words to her. It was her fault he was even here to begin with. 

“Just...doing my job.” She looked up at him and forced a weak smile. She only just realized that he had his arm around her now. She didn’t want to get up. She shifted closer to him and moved her head from his shoulder to his chest. Just as he was holding her, her arm moved to wrap around his middle lightly. Her eyes closed as she allowed herself to listen to his heart. She figured she could probably fall asleep again in this position if she stayed in it for long enough. Despite her pain, she can’t remember the last time she had been this comfortable.

“By the way,” Neji spoke up again, prompting Tenten to look up at him. “You said you had something you wanted to tell me before we got attacked. What was it?” Tenten’s heart sunk. There was no way she could tell him the truth now, after what they had been through. To go from almost dying by the hand of thieves only to find out he’s been in the company of bounty hunters this whole time...there was no way that would go over well. 

Tenten took a silent deep breath and maintained eye contact with Neji and her hand shifted from his middle to instead gently hold the side of his face. His eyes followed her hand briefly before looking back down at her. By the look in his eye she could tell he knew what she wanted. Slowly, he brought his face down to meet hers and he captured her lips in a kiss. Tenten could feel a fluttering sensation in her stomach and could hear her own heart pounding. In that moment, nothing else leading up to this or that would come after this felt like it mattered. Neji then pulled away, though he kept his face close to hers. 

“Are you sure you want to do this?” He asked in almost a whisper. His free hand moved up to delicately rest on the one she had on his face. “You’re a jedi...are we even allowed to do this…?” There it was again, the lie that had become the bane of her existence. She couldn’t escape it no matter what. But she refused to let it ruin this moment. Tenten leaned up to kiss him briefly before shaking her head. 

“I don’t care,” she responded back quietly. She pulled Neji back into the kiss then which he eagerly reciprocated. The kiss was slow and sweet and a part of Tenten wondered if it was selfish that she would allow herself some escape like this. The other part of her though was way too enamored to care. 


	6. Chapter 6

Tenten’s moments of self indulgence with the king had been cut short when an awkward  _ ‘ahem’ _ coming from the entrance of the room called her attention away. She looked over to notice Lee standing there, looking to the side uncomfortably with a red tint on his cheeks. Tenten and Neji quickly separated themselves and Tenten sat forward. 

“L- Sion. What’s wrong?” 

“Master Jedi, there is something I wanted to show you, will you please follow me?” Lee asked before walking out. Tenten smiled at Neji briefly and mumbled a quick  _ ‘be right back’  _ before following after Lee.

“What are you doing?!” Lee whispered aggressively as soon as Tenten came into view. “I was only joking when I called him your boyfriend!” Tenten frowned and rolled her eyes.

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” she responded dismissively, earning her an incredulous look from Lee.

“Tenten...we have to deliver him to the commissioner. What are you going to do once he is gone? Unless...are we backing out of the deal…?” Lee asked curiously with a tilt of his head. A feeling of guilt grew in Tenten and she reached a hand behind her neck and she looked off to the side. 

“About that...we...actually can’t back out of the deal…”

“Why not...?” Tenten didn’t speak for a few moments as her brain searched for how she could put it gently. It was bad though no matter how she worded it. She took one deep breath before speaking. 

“Well...uh...the commissioner said he would turn us over to the Jedi if we didn’t do it…” she explained slowly as she braced herself for Lee’s reaction. Lee stared at her with utter disbelief for a moment, his eyebrows knitted, before responding. 

“And you did not tell me this sooner?!” Lee questioned loudly. He was quickly met with a silencing ‘ _ shh’ _ from Tenten, who quickly put her hands on his shoulders to calm him. 

“I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t think it would matter at the time I thought we were going after some old fart who everyone hates anyway.” Lee folded his arms and pouted. “Listen, don’t worry about it, okay? I’ll think of something and everything will be fine in the end. You’ll see.”

The next day, they arrived at their final destination. As was routine, Tenten was to accompany Neji on the sides while the negotiations took place. If she could at least put a positive spin on the still healing blaster wound she received, at least she felt well rested now and was able to focus. Her time on the sidelines was spent thinking, with her thought process divided. She was alert, with her eyes every so often darting to the doors and windows and vents to make sure no one would come out to hurt the king. She couldn’t allow him to be that close to death again. However she couldn’t stop thinking about her promise to Lee. How would she get the three of them out of this without anyone getting hurt or killed? However she also caught her thoughts drifting off to the king. Thinking about the way his eyes looked when their gazes locked and the ghost of the feeling of his lips pressed to hers caused her heart to flutter and she was almost certain she could feel her face warming. 

Amidst her watchings the doors and windows, her gaze absently fell on Neji. She watched him as he spoke and took note of his posture and his neatly pressed robes. As best as she could from where she sat she observed the lines of his face and jaw. She worked up his face to his lips, his nose, then his eyes, and took note of the small frown he wore when he was serious. Her lips turned up into a small endearing smile as she watched him negotiate. Suddenly Neji paused his speaking and looked over at Tenten, who quickly looked away and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. From the corner of her eye she could  _ swear _ she saw Neji smile back at her briefly before turning back to his negotiations. Tenten looked back over at him before taking a quiet deep breath. She needed to think of something, and fast. 

Much like with the other systems they visited, Neji had been invited to dinner, accompanied by Sion and Scora. Scora had taken her seat beside him at the table and he felt a warmth in his chest. During the moments when Neji wasn’t holding a utensil, his and Scora’s hands would find each other under the table. It was strange yet comforting just how well her hand fit in his. He didn’t expect someone who was trained to fight to have such soft hands.

When dinner had concluded, Neji insisted on walking Scora back to her room. Once out of sight of the host and palace aides, his and Scora’s hands once again found each other and their fingers intertwined as they walked down the hall. They walked in silence but it was far from awkward. It was a short yet peaceful walk, one where Neji took every last second he could to appreciate being in her presence. Once they reached her door, Neji mumbled a quiet  _ ‘good night, sleep well,’ _ before pressing a gentle kiss to the back of her hand and moving to go to his own room. 

As the system they were at this time was much more humble and much less wealthy than the previous two they visited, Neji was assigned to share a room with Sion. Luckily there were two beds in there, so in the very least they could both sleep comfortably without one having to spend the night on the ground. 

“I hope you are alright sharing a room with me tonight, your highness,” Sion apologized with a sheepish smile as Neji walked into the room. “I know that this is not the most ideal sleeping situation but I will try my best not to be a bother.”  
“It’s no trouble at all, really,” Neji dismissed. The two quickly got ready to sleep and moved to lay in their respective beds, though neither of them was close to drifting off yet. 

“So...I hear that the negotiations went well today…?” Sion spoke, breaking the silence. 

“Yes, they went smoothly,” Neji responded simply, seeing no harm in indulging a small conversation for now. “This system is small and doesn’t have very much to offer Naboo at the moment. But in exchange for receiving aid from Naboo, the king has promised to return the favor once this system has the means of doing so,” he explained. He knew a negotiation like this might be risky, however if he were able to help not only his own people but people of other worlds as well, Neji felt that it could in the end be beneficial to all, and that it could reinforce their allyship even more. 

“I see,” Lee responded lightheartedly. “You seem to already be very good at your role as king.” Lee felt a twinge of guilt, hearing the king’s plan while also keeping his mission in mind. He wondered, would the commissioners be just as willing to help a less fortunate world outside of their own? Would Naboo truly be better off without King Neji in charge, as he and Tenten were led to believe?

“Thank you, Sion. I appreciate that. I wouldn’t be able to do it without you and Scora here to assist me,” Neji responded kindly. 

“It is no trouble at all, your majesty,” Lee dismissed. A moment of silence fell between them and Lee took a deep breath before speaking again. “You know...I have never seen Scora trust someone before as much as she trusts you.”

“Oh?” Neji turned on his side to face Lee.

“We grew up together. For the longest time it was just the two of us.” _ It was still just the two of them _ , Lee thought to himself. But that was beside the point. “We only had each other.” A small nostalgic smile spread on Lee’s lips as he recalled the story. “When she was really little...some people had tried to hurt her. They took her away from her family. But I helped her out of that. In the beginning, she was afraid of everything and everyone except for me. We protected each other. And it has been that way ever since,” Lee concluded.

“I see…” Neji responded, then falling silent for a moment. Lee could tell he was thinking hard about the story. It was likely this was his first time hearing it. Tenten never liked speaking about their past. “What about...when she became a jedi? And you, a pilot?” Neji spoke finally. Lee blinked for a second as he tried to think of how best to incorporate their lie into his story. 

“...After a few years of being alone on the streets of Coruscant, we ran into a Jedi Master by chance. His name was Maito Gai. After he found out that Scora was Force sensitive, he brought us both back to the temple. She trained as a Jedi and I was allowed to train to become a pilot.” Lee hoped that bit of the story sounded convincing, however he felt guilty telling it. Maito Gai was a real Jedi, and he had raised Lee in secret on the lower levels of Coruscant, away from the eyes of the Jedi, before he and Tenten had met. Everything Lee knew about the Jedi had come from Maito Gai, and the man was the closest thing Lee had to a father. Lee felt his heart wrench every time he remembered that Master Gai had died, and it had happened just before Lee and Tenten had met. He felt guilty now, using that name in order to lie. Lee wondered if the man was somehow watching over him now. Lee knew deep down that he would disapprove of this whole mission.

“Ah,” Neji nodded as he turned onto his back. “I’m glad she has someone around her that she can trust.” Lee bit the inside of his bottom lip and then sighed before turning over to face away from the king. 

“Good night, your majesty.”

As with the previous planets, the next morning the three of them woke up early to pack their belongings on the ship. As this was the farthest planet away from Naboo they have visited, their trip back would take a little over a day. Tenten felt like she was running out of time. They would soon have no choice but to hand Neji over to the commissioner and she had yet to tell him anything about it. The night before had been restless and she now sat in the ship with the fear that her anxiety would boil over. She sat at the table behind the pilot’s seat with her head resting against her closed fist and her leg bouncing under the table. She hadn’t been able to eat earlier that morning for fear of throwing up whatever she tried to consume. And all the while she could swear she heard a ticking sound following her wherever she went, as though the universe was counting down the seconds to when it would all happen for her. 

“Scora…?” Tenten looked up to see Neji standing over her with his eyebrows knit with worry. “Is something the matter?” Tenten was silent for a moment before she scooted over to allow him a seat. 

“I’m...alright,” Tenten responded. Her attention was focused down on the table as anxiety and the feeling of guilt further ingrained itself in her chest. “Just...lost in thought, I guess…” Neji reached out to gently take her hand in his. She could feel his thumb delicately rubbing against the back of her hand. It only served to make her more anxious but at the same time she didn’t want to let go. 

“Would you like to talk about it? I don’t mind listening,” Neji offered. Tenten stayed quiet as her mind raced even more, searching for what to say. She didn’t want him worrying about her on top of everything. If anything, she was more worried about him. 

“...I...was thinking…” Tenten began slowly as her gaze moved to meet Neji’s. He was doing that thing with his eyes again, where he looked worried for her on the surface but underneath it looked like he was staring into her soul. Somehow though, in spite of everything that she was hiding from him, she didn’t mind the idea of him knowing her, knowing the contents of her heart and soul. She could feel her face warming as she mustered up the courage to ask the question that was on her mind. “...why don’t we...run away together…?” she finally asked in a quiet voice. “Then you don’t have to worry about being king...and...we can be together...without the Jedi finding out about it...hm?” Neji raised his eyebrows at the proposition and then frowned before slowly shaking his head, then sighing.

“Scora...as tempting as that sounds, I can’t just...abandon my people. I have a duty to them that I need to fulfill,” Neji calmly responded. Tenten’s shoulders sank slowly in disappointment, hearing that he disagreed. “However…” he continued after a pause. “If you would like...you can live in the palace. The Jedi can’t touch you there, my guards will make sure of it. And,” Neji raised her hand up to his lips, kissing the back of it lightly. “we can still be together, if you would like to be.” Tenten’s eyes slowly lit up at his proposition and she could feel her heart flutter at the idea. The two of them together, in the protection of the palace the commissioner’s group had failed so many times to infiltrate. It was perfect. Tenten smiled genuinely and nodded. 

“I’d like that. Thank you.” A solution to her problem had dropped in her lap just like that. Was it too good to be true? The skeptical part of Tenten thought it might be. But a new side of Tenten had emerged during this whole trip, a side that was more caring and willing to accept happiness as it came. That part of her wanted so badly for this to be the solution she was looking for all along. She decided she would try her best not to ruin this opportunity.

A few hours had passed and the three still had much time before they were back in Naboo. Neji sat alone at the table behind the pilot’s seat while the ship flew on autopilot, gathering any and all hologram discs he had littered the table with during his time on this ship. A small blinking red light from the pilot’s dashboard caught Neji’s attention and he quickly stood up to investigate. It appeared to be an incoming transmission...from Naboo. Neji looked back for a second to see if anyone would come to receive the transmission before accepting it himself. In a split second, the blue hologram of the captain of the royal guard from Naboo shimmered into view. 

“Your highness! Is that you? Thank goodness you’re alright!” He immediately began. Neji frowned and tilted his head.

“Yes, I’m alright. Why wouldn’t I be?” Neji questioned. The man’s tone was panicked. Neji couldn’t help but wonder if something had happened back home in his absence. “Is something the matter?”

“There has been a mistake. The jedi escort sent to aid your travels had just arrived today. The one you’re with is an impo-” The transmission was cut off as a blaster bullet flew from behind Neji, destroying the hologram projector. Neji looked back to see Scora and Sion standing a ways away. The shot seemed to have come from Sion, evident in how he had the blaster aimed with a shaky hand. Neji stared at them both with shock before that shock turned into anger. 

“What is the meaning of this?” He asked as he reached for his own blaster, kept securely in its holster. He had no intention of shooting just yet, but he needed to be prepared. He silently looked over at Scora, who kept her gaze averted. She looked ashamed, but it only served to anger Neji even more. “Is it true…? Are you really...an imposter…?” Neji questioned in an even tone, though he couldn’t help the pain that slipped in. Scora only shut her eyes and remained silent. Sion did the same. Neji allowed an uncomfortable silence to fill the air for a few moments before he approached the two of them, with his blaster trained at Scora’s middle. 

“I want you to choose your words very carefully when I ask this question. This blaster is loaded and I will not hesitate to kill you both if I don’t like your answer. So tell me...who are you?” Neji interrogated in an even yet menacing tone. Another few moments of heavy silence hung in the air before Scora spoke.

“...My name is actually Tenten....and that’s Lee…” She looked over at her partner before looking back up at Neji. “...we’re bounty hunters...and we were hired to kidnap you…” 


	7. Chapter 7

_ “...we were hired to kidnap you…” _

Neji’s eyes widened at the revelation. He could feel his throat closing and his heart dropping. The room started to feel like it was spinning. He knew the answer wasn’t going to be good and yet the shock of hearing it out loud was intense, and for a few moments it rang in his ear. The hand holding his blaster began to quiver and his jaw clenched as his eyes narrowed, with his gaze trained on Sco...no, Tenten. He wasn’t sure what feeling was more intense, shock, anger, heartbreak, denial, or betrayal. This woman, the same one who had reassured him in his time of doubt, who had saved his life and almost lost her own in the process...she had been the true threat this whole time. His expression slowly changed from a shocked one to that of rage. His eyebrows furrowed as he stared down into her eyes. She looked back up at him with sadness and shame, with tears collecting over her lower eyelid. Was she actually upset, he wondered? Or was this more of her being deceptive? He had no idea what to believe anymore. He had so many questions he wanted to ask but he wondered if there was even any point in asking them. And so he remained silent, training his blaster at her stomach and staring down at her with hurt and betrayal in his eyes. 

“I...I’m sorry…” Tenten choked out, breaking the heavy silence between them as tears began to stream down her face. “We…” Her eyes darted to Lee for a second before looking back at Neji. “I...I never wanted it to go this far. But we were stuck. The commissioner said that if we didn’t do it he would turn us over to the Jedi. Please...you have to believe me!” Tenten sobbed, sniffling in between her breaths. “I meant it when I said I wanted to run away with you...so you could be safe...and we wouldn’t have to worry about this anymore...please Neji...I’m sorry…”

“You think I still want to be with you after all this?” Neji scoffed incredulously. There was an intense pain in his chest, like his heart was slowly, excruciatingly being torn apart. He glanced down for a moment at the blaster he still had aimed at her and the line between his lips thinned at the realization that there was no way he could do it. As angry as he was, he couldn’t bring himself to harm her. He gave an exasperated huff before putting the blaster back in its holster and turning away from her. His hands moved up to run through his hair as his mind raced. Where was he supposed to go from here? How was he supposed to get out of this? 

“H-hey…” Tenten called to him with a quiet voice, then taking a moment to sniffle and wipe away the tears on her face before continuing to speak. “...I...I don’t care if the Jedi take us anymore. We’ll take you home and then you never have to see us again. Everything...everything will be fine...okay…?” Neji’s hands left his head and he turned around again to look at Tenten. For a long moment he was silent and his lilac eyes scanned over her, trying to decide what her motive here now was. Did she actually care about his safety and want him home? Or was this perhaps a plan b in the event that plan a didn’t work, all for the sake of collecting her bounty? His eyes shot over to Lee, who seemed wary and unwilling to speak. 

“Let me ask you this, and answer me truthfully. Who is it that hired you to do this…?” Neji broke the silence, his voice calm but demanding. He already had his suspicions about what the answer was and he was already regretting asking, as he was anxious to hear the answer. Tenten stayed quiet for a moment, biting the inside of her bottom lip and taking a deep breath before finally answering. 

“...Daybreak.”

Neji’s eyes widened at the answer, now knowing his worst fear had been realized. It was the answer he had been expecting, and yet he felt like he couldn’t breathe. He felt like there were walls closing it around him. His heart was beating so fast, like he was faced with death at that very second. He felt dizzy and his eyes darted around the room before he finally moved to sit down at the table he had spent so much of this trip at. The room was completely silent for a long while, with the only thing Neji was able to hear being his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. When did his breathing become so heavy? His eyes trained on Tenten while he tried to collect his thoughts. Not even ten minutes ago, her presence had been the highlight of this whole trip, the thing he looked forward to the most between all these meetings. And now looking at her face reminded him that within a few minutes, reality and life as he knew it was crumbling around him. How could he let this happen? How could he let his guard down like this? Finally, he shook his head before speaking. 

“I...I can’t go home…” he finally choked out, only then realizing that he felt misty eyed. “My...my sisters...if I go back...they’ll die…” If he went back, there was no way he could ensure that the palace wouldn’t get stormed, that more assassins wouldn’t get sent after them, ones who were more brutal and more heartless than these two were. If he went home, there was no way of ensuring the safety of those around him, especially not those who would succeed him after he died. Neji looked down at the floor in defeat. 

“...Take me to them...perhaps I can negotiate something out with them so that they will spare my sisters’ lives…” he finally spoke after regaining control of himself. He was going to die either way, that much he was sure of. But if there was even the smallest chance that he could spare his sisters’ lives, he would go with that option. 

Tenten watched the king’s reaction to the truth coming out with a wrenched heart. The thing she had been trying to avoid this whole trip finally happened, and it hurt to watch far more than she had ever anticipated it would. She ruined this man’s life, someone who she had somehow come to cherish on a personal level. This was her fault. And there was nothing more she could do than watch him suffer as tears streamed down her face, no matter how many times she tried to wipe them away. Every so often she would glance at Lee, who only looked on with shame and sadness in his eyes. 

"...I'm...I’m sorry…” Tenten murmured quietly as her gaze cast down to the floor, despite the fact that she knew her words meant nothing now. 

The last few hours of their trip were spent in total silence. Not a word was spoken by any of them. Tenten couldn’t even bring herself to look at Neji now, knowing that if she did she would only start crying again. Was this even real? Was this actually happening? In her exhausted daze she almost wasn’t sure if this was reality or if she was really asleep and this was some nightmarish figment of her imagination. It only took them a few more hours before they reached their destination but to Tenten it felt like a long, painful lifetime. 

The king was put in handcuffs without resistance upon landing. Lee and Tenten had exchanged their disguises for their standard bounty hunter attire. Tenten had missed the feeling of her Mandalorian armors embrace around her before, but upon finally getting to wear it again she felt nothing but emptiness. It just didn’t feel the same, knowing what was about to happen now that this job was done. Tenten took a deep breath before putting her helmet on. She was already here, there was no turning back now. 

Lee and Tenten escorted Neji off the ship, with the commissioner surrounded by multiple men waiting patiently to meet them. Neji walked compliantly though his head was turned down the whole time, and his hair draped down on either side of his face, keeping Tenten from being able to read his expression. She wasn’t sure if she even wanted to see his face right now.  _ ‘Just a few more minutes and it would all be over,’ _ she had to remind herself. 

Upon meeting the commissioner, the three of them stopped and the commissioner along with two other men stepped forward. Lee briefly explained what had happened with their target, the original king, and explained that Neji was the current king. Once he understood the situation, the commissioners motioned for the men at his side to escort Neji away. Through the lense of her helmet, Tenten caught a quick glimpse of Neji looking back at her with sorrow in his eyes before he was escorted away completely. Tenten took a quiet, deep breath and looked back at the commissioner while doing her best to ignore the aching in her chest. She gave one last goodbye to the commissioner and shook his hand before stepping back and allowing Lee to do the same.

“It was a pleasure doing business with you,” Lee greeted respectfully, shaking the commissioner’s hand before giving him a small pat on the shoulder, then turning to follow Tenten into the ship. Once the door to the ship closed, Tenten collapsed on the bench behind the pilot’s seat and removed her helmet, setting it on the table before beginning to sob. 

“That’s it...he’s gone…” Tenten sniffled from behind her hands covering her face. “He’s going to die...and it’s all my fault…” she continued to sob as Lee started up the ship, then flying off. The image of Neji being escorted off, the image of him looking back at her one last time, they kept replaying in her head over and over, somehow making her heart ache even more than it did to begin with. Of everything she had ever done as a bounty hunter, that had been the hardest thing she ever had to do. And she still felt herself disconnecting from it. She still found herself questioning whether or not she actually just did that or not, or whether it was all just some freakish nightmare that she would be waking up from any second in a cold sweat. She looked over at Lee, who hasn’t said a word since they both boarded the ship. He hadn’t asked her where they would go next. And yet he flew like he already knew exactly that. Tenten knit her eyebrows for a moment before speaking. 

“Where...are we going now…?” she asked as she tried to get her breathing under control. Lee hit another button, an autopilot, before turning around and then standing up before walking over to Tenten. 

“We are going to get him back,” Lee answered simply. Tenten frowned and stayed silent for a moment before looking up at him. 

“How? We have no way of knowing where they are going to take him.” Lee pulled up the hologram with the bounty information and set it down for Tenten to read before pointing. 

“Look, they are not going to kill him. It says here that they will be freezing him in carbonite. So we still have time,” Lee pointed out before looking down at Tenten again. “Before we left, I planted a small tracking device on their leader’s shoulder. So all we have to do is follow where their leader goes and we might be able to save him. This plan is not foolproof however...it is our best shot.” Tenten’s face lit up hearing Lee’s plan, at the possibility that they could get Neji back. Tenten quickly stood up. 

“Lee, you’re a genius!” Tenten exclaimed happily and stood up before pulling him into a quick hug, then turning back to the controls of the ship and moving to take her seat there. “Let’s go then, we have no time to waste,” she ushered before turning to face the dashboard. She made a silent prayer to any deity that might hear her that this mission would be successful and that they would get him back, alive and well. 


End file.
